I would like to share with you 3 steps for breaking bad habits. Everyone has bad habits that are hard to kick, whether that's smoking, eating fast food, or consuming alcohol. Bad habits are a sure way to slow you down and decrease your productivity. When you allow a bad habit to take over your life, you inhibit your opportunities for success.
In his popular book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhigg cites a study from Duke University that shows that 40-45% of our daily actions are actually habits. Your daily actions make you who you are and determine how you choose to move throughout your life. What do your habits say about you?
One study found that people who exercise a high degree of self-control tend to be much happier than those who don’t, both in the moment and in the long run (Bradberry, 2017). If you want to be successful in life, you need to break bad habits. Doing so requires a large amount of willpower and self-control, but it all starts with developing a mastery mindset.
Are you ready to learn how to create new habits that will help you master your day? CLICK HERE to purchase my Morning Ritual Mastery Course!
Here are 3 steps for breaking bad habits:
1. Commit to Change
If you want to break any bad habit, you need to first commit to making a change. By nature, we are creatures of habit. Change makes us feel uncomfortable. Leo Babauta, author of the blog, Zen Habits, is a fan of tackling one habit change at a time. Be kind to yourself. It takes a lot of energy and willpower to unlearn a behaviour.
The more that you engage in a bad habit – like smoking, gossiping, or surfing the web – the harder it is to change that habit. When you decide which bad habits you want to change, make sure that your goals for doing so are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bounded).
2. Discover The Cause
Once you have committed to changing your bad habits, you need to discover what it is that causes you to take part in them in the first place. Have you ever made a decision to break a bad habit and then you fail? The resulting emotion is often guilt, which is a horrible feeling. Next time this happens, ask yourself, “What rewards am I receiving from engaging in these bad habits?”
This will require you to dig deep, go inward, and do some soul-searching. Change will not be possible until you do so. Once you know what cue triggers your bad habits, and what reward you are receiving from them, you then need to build new habits, in order to replace the bad ones.
3. Create A Ritual
The best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good one, which is where the power of a morning ritual comes into play. The most successful people in the world have morning rituals. The mornings set the tone for how the rest of your day will unfold. When I do my morning ritual, I feel unstoppable.
Imagine how great it would feel if you could be more productive, have more energy, and be happier on a daily basis. When you take the time to honour yourself every morning, your entire day will transform. If you are consistent with your morning ritual, you will eventually break your bad habits.
John C. Maxwell said it best – “You will never change your life until you change something that you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” Are you ready to change your bad habits, and replace them with healthy, empowering ones? There is no better time than today to get started!
Are you ready to learn how to create new habits that will help you master your day? CLICK HERE to purchase my Morning Ritual Mastery Course!